Political Manipulation Terms

verb to cause someone to believe something that is not true

adjective giving a false impression

• The magician was skilled at deceiving the audience with his sleight of hand tricks.
• I can't believe she was deceiving us this whole time about her true intentions.
• I thought he was my friend, but he was just deceiving me the whole time.
• The calm surface of the lake was deceiving, hiding the strong currents below.

verb to deceive or mislead someone into believing something that is not true

• The con artist tried to delude the elderly couple into giving him their life savings.
• Don't let him delude you into thinking he's innocent.
• She's always trying to delude us into doing her chores for her.
• His grandiose speeches were meant to delude the audience into believing he was a great leader.

noun a deception or trick

verb to deceive or trick someone

• The con artist managed to hoodwink the elderly couple out of their life savings.
• I can't believe he tried to hoodwink us with that fake Rolex.
• Don't let anyone hoodwink you into buying that overpriced junk.
• Her charming smile was enough to hoodwink anyone into believing her lies.

noun a person who plots or schemes, especially in a devious way

• The machinator behind the scheme was finally brought to justice.
• I heard that the machinator got caught red-handed.
• The machinator thought they could pull a fast one, but they got caught.
• The political machinator carefully orchestrated the downfall of his rival.

noun deceitful or dishonest behavior; the practice of using tricks to deceive or cheat others

• The magician amazed the audience with his clever trickery during the show.
• I can't believe she used trickery to win the game.
• He pulled off some serious trickery to get out of trouble.
• Her words were filled with trickery, trying to deceive those around her.

verb to treat someone unfairly or dishonestly; to betray or deceive someone

• The company's decision to outsource production ended up screwing over many local workers.
• I can't believe he tried to screw me over by taking credit for my work.
• She really screwed me over by spreading rumors about me behind my back.
• His betrayal felt like a knife in the back, like he was intentionally trying to screw me over.